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Friday, June 5, 2015

Balsamic Roasted Almonds and A Return to Blogging

It's been too long since my last post but in an effort to get back into the blogging game, I want to share with you a recipe that I made a while ago but neglected to share. This recipe for balsamic roasted almonds puts a new twist on a well known healthy snacking staple...they are perfect just by themselves or even in a salad to add a good crunch as a better alternative to croutons, crisps, or even other candied nuts.

This year has been full of new and exciting things personally, and I hope to share more of them from now on, even if they don't necessarily involve recipes or cooking, which has in the past been my main motivation for posting. During the spring, I have been from New Orleans to Washington to Puerto Rico to California, and have worked and graduated and moved at the same time. This is just the warm-up for the rest of the summer, which I will be spending in Europe, and I hope to give you more travel-related updates in the coming months, whether they involve food or not. Anyways, like with all success, consistency is key and while I've clearly failed in the past, that's what I'm aiming for with blogging from now on. Things are calming down again for the time being, and I want to take this time to get reconnected and make posting a regular responsibility. We will see how it goes, but for now, enjoy this recipe and as always, please let me know what you think!

Balsamic Roasted Almonds

Ingredients:

2 cups of salted or unsalted almonds (approx.)

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

1/2 tsp. salt (if using unsalted almonds)

Additional spices to taste (rosemary, thyme, even lemon pepper)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 175 degrees.

Lightly spray a saucepan with olive or coconut oil, add almonds, and warm up over medium heat until pan sizzles when you sprinkle water on it.

Add balsamic vinegar, salt, and any additional spices and reduce to low heat

Stir constantly with a spatula until the balsamic vinegar starts to thicken and coat the almonds.

Once the balsamic vinegar almost completely transfers to cover the almonds, remove from heat.

Transfer almonds to a lined baking sheet (wax paper works best) and make sure that they are distributed over a single layer only to avoid sticking

Bake in the oven for approximately 30 minutes, or until the balsamic shell hardens further.

Let cool and enjoy! The more batches you make, the more you can play around with the balsamic/salt/spice ratio until you figure out what you enjoy the most. Best if stored in a cool, dry place in an airtight container.

4 comments:

Dear Barbara, sorry if I wasn't clear enough! The temperature is in Fahrenheit, it is low since the almonds don't necessarily need baking, just toasting, and higher temperatures would cause the balsamic to burn. Thank you for reading, I appreciate it, and bon appetit 😊

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About Me

I am a college student, division 1 athlete, and blogger born in Prague, raised in the Bay Area, and now living in the beautiful Bronx. I enjoy fitness, positive thinking, fair trade, and sharing (healthy and easy) recipes along the way! Hashtag #healtheasy to share the love :)